


Ayushiki Week

by Niko_Niko_Neek



Category: Corpse Party (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, I'm love them...., Some angst, ayushiki week 2020
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:22:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25076068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niko_Niko_Neek/pseuds/Niko_Niko_Neek
Summary: A collection of my entries for the 2020 Ayushiki week. The prompt I use will the the chapter title.
Relationships: Kishinuma Yoshiki/Shinozaki Ayumi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	1. Seasons

**Author's Note:**

> CH 1-Seasons
> 
> (I had no idea where I was going with this one, but I think it worked out)

It is winter.

Around him, Yoshiki catches the snippet of conversation from a few other students. The coffee place near Kiseragi has been something of a local hangout for years, before he’d even been born. Local kids who were still too young for drinks, but too old to want to go straight home, would walk with their friends here for studying or chatting.

Today, though, no one is here for studying. All anyone is talking about is the graduation ceremony in March.

“I can’t believe we all have to get up there and sing. It’s so embarrassing.”

“Just think of it as a proper sendoff. It’s the last thing you’ll have to do for this school, anyway. Then, you’re off to University!”

“I’m just excited for the afterparty. We’re still going to dinner, right? My parents-”

The conversation behind him fades as the group exits, leaving him again in the quiet. Rain taps a gentle percussion on the window next to where he sits.

This time last year, he made it through each day by counting down the amount of time he had left at school. With his exam scores, he had a sinking suspicion that University wouldn’t be a promising option, not to mention the idea of spending yet more time studying for a career that probably wouldn’t make him happy.

The world had changed since Heavenly Host. He’d felt it ever since returning to his apartment on that first day back. It was as though the world itself had become muted, all the colors and sounds far away. There was a buzzing in his ears that hadn’t gone away, a kind of static in his limbs.

An unwavering certainty that he was only waiting for the next awful thing to happen.

The bell at the entrance chimes, once, and he glances up.

He’s a little surprised to see Ayumi walk in, but more surprised that she’s by herself. It was rare to see her without the company of one of the other girls from their homeroom, if not more. Seiko and Naomi had come as a package deal, as did Morishige and Mayu. 

So their numbers had dwindled. Seven. Six. Four.

And now, In Ayumi’s case, just one.

She offers a small, half-smile when she makes eye contact with him, before turning her attention back to the chalkboard menu. She looks happy to see him, but that might just be the traces of whatever wishful thinking he’s still managed to retain. He focuses down on his mug of hot chocolate. Some older students he knew from his apartment complex called it a little kid’s drink, but it was warm and good for the rain. It’s still too hot to drink, so he just inhales the steam for a while.

He doesn’t really expect her to talk to him. He was a reminder of every bad thing that had happened to her back there, even if he wished he wasn’t. So, when the sudden scraping of chair legs sounds from across the table, he actually jumps.

“...Would you rather just be left alone?”

Her voice is tentative, as is the way she’s looking at him. The notion of anyone asking permission from him is oddly foriegn. Still, he shakes his head.

“Sit.”

She does, setting her mug and saucer down with a quiet clink. A glance tells him it’s a green tea latte. He’s not surprised-it’s her favorite.

“Are you, uh…”

Her eyes find his. Ayumi has a habit of looking attentively at a person when they speak, listening carefully for them to be finished. It’s courteous, he supposes, but it makes him nervous.

There’s many things he could ask.

Are you alright?

Are you angry with me?

Are you still having those panic fits?

“Are you looking forward to graduating?”

It seems like the wrong thing to ask. A shadow falls over her expression, and she looks intently down at her drink. 

“I was. It’s painful to think about it now, though.”

Yoshiki exhales. “...Yeah.”

There will be exactly three empty slots on the risers. Four, if their teacher was counted.

“It seems so selfish to be graduating like this.”

His gaze, when he looks at her, is as soft as his voice. “It wasn’t your fault.”

It’s said so often by him that it’s like a mantra. To Satoshi, over the phone when his friend calls him to babble on about nothing, not wanting to admit his state. To Naomi, on the rare occasions when she confides in him. But, mostly, to Ayumi. He’s said it so many times to her that he worries it’s lost all meaning.

\-----------

It is Spring.

The Graduation ceremony, as it turns out, is a lot of sitting and listening. Because Miss Yui is considered missing, a stranger stands with their homeroom class. Yoshiki and Satoshi are sequestered in the back, since they are apparently the tallest. Four large picture frames are leaning on seats. He refuses to look at any of them.

Since Ayumi is their class representative, it’s her job to give a short farewell message on their behalf. She looks dignified when she walks up to the small podium in order to give it. She’s worn her hair down today, and it falls down her shoulders like nighttime rain.

“I-”

Her voice, clear and commanding, seems suddenly to trip and fall over itself. In an instant, Ayumi goes from composed and serious, to crumbled and shaking. Her hands grip the sides of the podium so hard that her knuckles turn white. He feels Satoshi shift in concern.

All at once, it doesn’t matter that he’s standing in front of hundreds of gathered relatives. It doesn’t matter that he can feel his parent’s resentful gaze on him from the third row. Ayumi needs his help, and that takes precedent.

Carefully, almost rehearsed, Yoshiki makes his way frontward. He can feel discomfort radiating from the gathered faces, as each of them undoubtably ask the other if this was supposed to happen.

He finds his way next to Ayumi. She takes a deep, shaking breath.

He lowers his voice, so the microphone won’t pick him up. “Breathe,” he instructs.

He wonders for a moment whether or not she’ll be angry at him. But, instead, she takes another breath. Concealed behind the podium, he feels her hand reach out and clench around his. Her grip is so tight that it hurts.

He doesn’t move.

“We,” she continues. “The students of Kiseragi Senior Academy…”

For the remainder of the speech, she doesn’t let him go.

\-----------

On the third week of summer, Ayumi is standing in his apartment doorway with two sugared crepes.

“I was in the area,” she says, quickly, as though she’d rehearsed this already. “And knew you had a day off today, because Satoshi told me. He also told me that you’d been stressed with your manager. To be honest, I’m not even sure if you like this kind, because they had this chocolate sort, but it looked too sweet even for me, so I-”

“Ayumi?” He chuckles, leans his shoulder against the doorframe. “Thank you. I appreciate it. Do you want to come in?”

She’d never been in his apartment before. She walks in so carefully, it’s like she’s entering a shrine. She leaves her shoes in the entryway, and he feels his neck flush when he realizes there's still at least four empty soda bottles on his coffee table.

“You know,” Yoshiki pointed out, examining the crepe. “I told Satoshi most of that stuff in confidence.”

“And what did you expect him to do?” Ayumi points out, from the seat she’s taken on his couch. “Lie?”

…...It’s a fair point.

He takes his own place on the other end of the couch, carefully moving a video game controller out of sight with his foot while he does so. “Do you always interrogate him about me?”

“I don’t interrogate anyone, Kishinuma. He was worried.” She turns to look at him, fixated, in that investigative way he isn’t sure he likes. “He told me you’d been smoking more.”

Yoshiki swallows. “Not much more than usual.”

Her eyes narrow. She knows he’s lying as well as he does.

“....I don’t want to sound like I’m picking on you,” Ayumi says after a moment, studying her dessert. “I know it’s been...Hard. It’s been hard for me, too. But when you try and just go on your own-”

“Can we not talk about this? I’d rather eat my crepe.”

Ayumi’s brow furrows. “I wish you wouldn’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Shut people down when they try helping you. After everything you did for me back there, I thought maybe you’d be willing to actually talk to me about things like this. But, then again, maybe I shouldn’t have assumed.” She sets the crepe down, carefully, on the table. Her arms fold, the way they normally do when she’s irritated.

“....I didn't mean it like that,” Yoshiki offers. One hand reflexively scratches at the back of his scalp. “I’m just used to-”

“Taking care of things on your own. I know.” Ayumi sounds a bit defeated, but picks the pancake back up to take a small bite. “I just wish you didn’t have to.” She pauses, takes another bite. Then, she seems to correct herself. “You don’t have to, you know.”

Yoshiki is openly staring by this point, which Ayumi probably is pretending to not notice. She keeps eating her crepe.

It hurts, sometimes, loving her.

\---------------

Fall, despite everything, comes again.

They get in the habit of taking walks. Through a combination of an obsessive gum-chewing habit and sheer willpower, Yoshiki has cut back from a pack every three days, to a pack every three weeks. His teeth still look stained, which he resents, but he’s determined to quit altogether soon.

Leaves crunch beneath his shoes. Ayumi is talking about a book she’d finished recently, which he’s not particularly interested in, but he hums and nods his head at intervals.

“So it ends upeing a metaphor, see, Yoshiki? The real antagonist was never the cousin, it was the main character? But because he had amnesia-”

“Uh-huh.”

“-He’d never remembered killing his mother at all. So the whole time-”

“That’s cool.”

She stops walking, and he knows he’s been caught. “I didn’t know you were a horror fan, Kishinuma.”

He blinks. “I’m...Not?” he tried.

She rolls her eyes, and he knows he failed. “Something’s on your mind again.”

“Oh. I was just thinking about the new place. Packing and stuff.”

The two begin walking again. They’re side by side, close enough that her coat sleeve brushes against his.

“Are you excited to move?”

He scoffs. “Hell yeah. With that guy and his girlfriend right over my head every night? I started blasting pop music just to mess with them.”

This earns a laugh. “You could use a better place, anyway. Just promise to let Miki help you decorate. No offense, but your last setup was kind of….Bad.”

“In my defense, I had exactly three rooms to work with. One of them was a bathroom.”

“I know.”

The crunching stopped abruptly. He actually took a few more steps before realizing that Ayumi had frozen stiff.

“....Shinozaki?” He could feel his shoulders tense for a moment before he traced her intent gaze over to a particularly large pile of leaves. Clearly, someone had been hard at work.

He gleaned from the pile, to her, and back again. “You’re not going to…?”

“No,” Ayumi replied, seeming to break out of her leaf-induced trance. “No, I just...Mayu and I, we used to go around trying to make the biggest piles to jump into. It was kind of stupid, but really fun.”

Yoshiki nodded thoughtfully. “Uh-huh….Hey, Shinozaki?”

“What is-”

Her response was cut off by a loud shriek as, without warning, Yoshiki shoved her directly into the waiting leaf pile. What he hadn’t been counting on, though, was the fact that she would grab onto the front of his coat to try and balance, and the momentum and awkward angle would send him tipping forward.

His palms reached out to catch the brunt of his fall, with the leaves cushioning any actual discomfort. Still, he wound up with Ayumi half kneeing him in the stomach, and his face landed square in the skin of her neck.

There was a moment of silence before Ayumi started laughing.

“Was that-” she managed between fits of laughter. “Was that a moment for you, Yoshiki? Was that your big plan all along?”

He groaned in discomfort. “No. I was planning on standing.”

When he talked, his mouth brushed against her throat. He quickly picked his head up.

“You were the one that decided to use me as a….”

Looking up had been a mistake. Ayumi was still snickering, her cheeks tinged pink with the chill air. Their faces were...What, a few centimeters apart? Maybe ten?

The grin faded slowly off of her face once the fullness of their proximity came to light. Her hand had come to rest on his shoulder, initially to push him off, but instead it just rested there. Waiting, almost.

He’d thought several times over the course of the past year about what kissing Ayumi shinozaki would feel like. In his head, it had always been a planned event-maybe after a date to the movies, or something similar. Always, he had been the one to initiate it, maybe with some kind of heartfelt confession for good measure.

What actually happens is entirely different.

Ayumi’s hand moves from his shoulder to the back of his neck. For a moment, it sits there, her thumb moving along the soft hairs.

When she pulls herself upward to kiss him, it’s like coming home.

It lasts five seconds, exactly. The side of his nose is pressed against hers. She smells like lilacs. For exactly five seconds, he forgets every bad thing that has ever happened to him.

The way she looks at him when it’s over is the way he wants her to look at him for the rest of his life.

“.....What was that for?” Is all he can think to ask. He feels dizzy.

“....All of the above?” She responds. The corner of her mouth turns upward in a funny half smile that makes his stomach flip.

He kisses her this time, just for that.


	2. Role Reversal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A shorter piece this time. Also, Ayumi runs a girl gang. Because she deserves it.

The damp washcloth makes the cut on her cheek sting. Ayumi grits her teeth.

“Hold still.”

Even though she knows she should be appreciating his help, she finds herself resenting Yoshiki’s firm, authoritative tone. It’s that hidden undercurrent of ‘I told you so’ that annoys her, even if he hasn’t outright said it.

In her own defense, the creep had been practically gift-wrapped for her.

They’d been at one of the local parks, within walking distance to some nearby food and drink places. She’d been accompanied by her typical outfit-there was Naomi, the unofficial second in command of the little group. Seiko was planning on meeting them later, but had gotten held up at home. The only other two with them had been Mayu and Yoshiki-though Yoshiki had just been there by chance.

Being a group of girls in a public place meant, sadly, that harassment did occur when they encountered strangers who weren’t familiar with their reputation-guys Seiko mockingly referred to as ‘tourists.’ That was annoying, but handling it wasn’t hard. All Ayumi had to do was hold a hand out for Naomi to hand her the baseball bat and, generally, whoever it was would take off running before any altercation was had.

Sometimes, though, they would come up against the more persistent variety.

These, Ayumi would ignore until her temper got the better of her (which didn’t take long.) Tonight, though, she hadn’t been a target of the cretin’s advances.

This time, it had been Mayu. And anybody who knew Ayumi Shinozaki and her band of miscreants knew that you just did not fuck with Mayu. It was an unspoken law that every student at their school abided by.

Despite being smaller in stature, they’d had numbers on their side-two against one (Mayu didn’t fight.) And, in her defense, Ayumi had been holding her own pretty damn well until he’d pulled a switchblade on them.

“You can’t keep acting stupid like this.”

Yoshiki’s focused frown brings her out of reminiscing. “I didn’t see you rushing to help.” Her voice is sharper than she intended, but her face and knuckles all hurt. Plus it was late.

And, on top of that, she’d lost a fight in front of him. She hadn’t been planning on that.

“That’s because I know better.” Eyes still narrowed in focus, the taller boy reached above Ayumi’s head for the medicine cabinet. For a moment, he half leans over her. His uniform, normally buttoned exactly just so at all times, is relaxed, and the front collar of his shirt is open. She swallows and tears her eyes away from the divot near his chest. “I’m not good in fights. And he was dangerous. You should have left it alone.”

“What, and let him speak to Mayu that way?” She glares at the mere thought. “Yeah. Right.”

Yoshiki sighs while applying some gauze to the larger scratches on her cheek, like he’s trying to explain something to a stubborn child. She hates it when he does that. “There were other options, is what I’m saying. Options that didn’t have to involve you getting stabbed.”

“I wasn't stabbed.”

“You could have been.” 

Something in his voice makes her look at him, and for the first time, she notices the deep furrow in his brow. He’s upset. She’s upset him.

“You know there are weird kinds of people in the city, people who aren’t just looking for a fight. What if something serious had happened to you? What would your older sister think?”

Alright, that’s a low blow. Hinoe was one of the people Ayumi admired the most, and even the mental image of her sister’s concerned face makes her stomach twist in guilt. But, at the same time, Yoshiki is lecturing her, which she kind of hates.

“Okay, whatever.”

He exhales a sharp huff through his nose. “You’re impossible.”

“Yeah, well. What would you do without me?”

He’s in the middle of applying a band-aid across the bridge of her nose. For a moment, she sees him almost smile, but then a second passes, and it’s gone.

“Keep going on like that and we’ll have to find out,” he replies. “Give me your hand.”

She feels her face begin to grow warm. “My what?”

He gives her an impatient look. “I mean, unless you want your knuckles to keep swelling.”

Oh. Right. For a second she’d thought...Ayumi huffs and holds her right hand out to him.

She hates how fussy he is. She hates how every time she gets into trouble, he seems to appear either to talk her out of it or pick her up afterwards. She hates how gently he wraps bandages around her bloodied fingers, like he’s tending to something precious. She hates how one strand of bleached hair hangs down in his face, because her first impulse is to reach out and tuck it away for him. 

Mostly, she just hates that she can’t.

“Alright. You should live.”

“Thanks, Doc.” Her tone is dismissive even as her heart hurts.

Even though he’s said he was done, he doesn’t let go of her hand. Instead, after looking at her face with an oddly studious expression, as though she were a complicated problem on an exam, he dips his head and presses his mouth to the back of her hand.

…...Did she hit her head particularly hard on the way down? For a second, she blinks, certain that she’s daydreamed too hard this one time, and is now hallucinating. But, a few seconds later, and he’s still got ahold of her hand, looking intently at her face.

“Be more careful, okay? I mean it.” His voice is quieter.

Any chance of continuing to pretend annoyance is lost. “.....Okay.” Ayumi whispers.

She doesn’t get into any fights for a long time after that.


	3. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wish there were more interactions between Hinoe and Yoshiki.

There are a lot of things Ayumi has rediscovered since escaping Heavenly Host.

The fresh air had been the first thing. When she and the other survivors had stumbled, almost blind, out of the school and into the night air, the wind had carried a mellow, gentle smell to it. The stars were visible.

_The stars._

She was weeping by then. From any mixture of things-exhaustion, sorrow, relief. Most of all a wondering at the reality that the stars, despite everything, were still there.

Even after all of this.

“Are you going home?”

She knows it’s Yoshiki without turning-they have gotten very accustomed to the sound of each other’s voices. Satoshi, looking like a shuffling zombie of all things, numb with either pain or disbelief, had leaned against Naomi as they exited. Neither of them said a word. Neither of them probably had to.

She wipes her face. “Yes. I want to see Hinoe.”

“I hear you.” He smiles, but it’s small and seems to take a lot of effort. “I’m visiting Miki first thing tomorrow.”

The obvious warmth in Yoshiki’s voice when he mentions his younger sister is very sweet, but his phrasing makes her question something.

“Kishinuma-kun...You live alone, right?”

“Yeah.”

For a moment, Ayumi tries to reason that perhaps he’d want to be by himself for a while. He was probably sick of seeing her all the time, at any rate. But also, when she tried to imagine what it would be like to return to an empty house, no distraction or company against the memories that no doubt were lurking and waiting to strike.

“....Would you rather go back to your apartment?” She asks, carefully.

There’s no denying the way his shoulders stiffen and, despite his fair skin, he seems to go even paler. “...No,” he admits, hushed. “No, I wouldn’t.”

“Then, you could come with me.” She doesn’t think about the way her offer sounds when she says it, and ignores the slight warmth gathering in her face. “We have an extra room, I mean. Hinoe wouldn’t mind guests, especially not after I explained everything to her.”

Yoshiki arches his brow. “She’d believe you?”

“Of course she’d believe me.” Maybe it’s the sheer certainty of her voice, but for a moment, Yoshiki almost appears envious. Of course, there is the issue of her bringing a boy to their house, especially late at night, but...She could explain. “It would be no trouble, and...Well, the idea of you going back to a deserted apartment doesn’t seem right, after everything.”

His expression softens. “Thank you, Shinozaki.”

It’s a long walk back to the Shinozaki house, but Ayumi doesn’t mind a second of it. Just looking at different things, however small-a small cluster of flowers in someone’s garden, the glittering reflection of a streetlight on the rain soaked roads, the distant chorus of frogs. It’s beautiful, all of it. 

They don’t speak. What is there to say? They’ve seen things that other people-a group of drunk students on the other side of the road, an old woman in a clear rain slicker nearby-could never fathom. They’ve grown up, and the finality of it is sad.

She looks up at Yoshiki’s expression. He appears lost in thought, with no intent of finding his way out.

There’s a light on at the porch when they arrive, which means Hinoe is up waiting for them. And indeed, when their footsteps sound on the porch, the door swings open almost right away.

“Ayumi!!” The commanding voice, the stern expression, the flick of long, black hair. “There’d better be a really great explanation for why you took so long. When you told me you were staying late for the Culture Festival, I assumed late for dinner, not-”

The sound of Ayumi’s muffled sobs break the silence and, wordlessly, she stumbles forward into her sister’s arms. Hinoe, puzzled, returns the hug. 

Because that’s what sisters did.

It doesn’t take long for Hinoe to usher them both inside, wrap Ayumi in a blanket, and hand them both mugs of steaming tea. In a halting, flat tone, Yoshiki and her explain what little they can. Hinoe doesn’t take her hand off of Ayumi’s for the duration.

“The Sachiko Ever-After Charm…” Hinoe shakes her head, stunned. “How horrific. I’d never even heard of it before now.”

“Me neither,” Yoshiki replies.

The exhaustion of the ordeal is finally catching up with her. She can barely keep her eyes open. She leans further and further against Hinoe, who eventually takes her in her arms, the same way she had when Ayumi was small. The warmth and familiarity drag her down the rest of the way.

\-------------

Ayumi’s house smells nice.

He can’t put a finger on exactly why. It’s moreso a combination of things-the scent of a prepared meal, still being kept hot in the oven, a faint floral scent from a planter box outside of the kitchen window. It’s a much better surrounding than his rundown apartment.

Ayumi is asleep in what seems like seconds. He’s glad about it-after everything, she needed the rest. He was actually a little surprised she hadn’t passed out in the walk there.

He could have carried her, though.

“I’m glad you’re here, Yoshiki-may I call you Yoshiki?”

Hinoe resembles Ayumi, especially around the eyes. She seems a bit more sure of herself, though. More decisive. He shrugs in response. “Sure.”

“You’ve been through a horrible thing. Both of you have.” For a moment, she looks down to regard her sister, lifting a hand to pet Ayumi’s hair. “If there’s anything you need-anything, day or night-all you have to do is let me know. This is your home, too.”

 _Home._ The word sounds like a foreign language.

“Thank you, Hinoe.”

She smiles. “Thank you. For protecting her. I can’t ever repay you for that.”

He shrugs again. The gesture is practically a reflex. “It was just what I had to do.”


	4. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff. So much fluff.

Sleeping is difficult anymore.

The hiss of rainfall serves as a backdrop as Yoshiki navigates the twilight between sleeping and waking. Eventually, waking wins. A deep sigh leaves him as he lifts a hand to rub his eyes-it’s dark outside, still, so morning is either soon to come around the corner, or millions of miles away. His bedroom is cast in shadows, objects taking on a fuzzy outline in the night. 

It hadn’t been a dream that had woken him up this time, more just a sense of things. Yoshiki had developed an annoying habit of tearing himself out of unconsciousness at even the slightest noise, instantly ready for either fight or flight. For a moment he lies still, listening, but no sound comes aside from the soft hum of his refrigerator.

On his left, Aymi was still asleep. Her back was to him, covered in an old t-shirt of his that he’d allowed her to use. She was resting on her side, and her dark hair is spilling over one shoulder. Absently, he reaches out to trace the soft skin just below her eye, which is still tinged red with irritation. Her eyelids are closed, hiding the empty socket. A remnant of her battle with Queen.

A testament to her bravery.

A constant reminder of what she was willing to do for the people she loves.

A soft sigh leaves him. A strange mixture of pride and sorrow makes his chest hurt. He loves her, appreciates her sacrifice, but resents that it had to happen to her.

Perhaps it had been selfish of him, to rip the book of shadows out of her grip. Perhaps it was selfish that he rejected her decision, refused to accept the salvation of future generations in favor of saving one girl-just one.

It was selfish.

Love is selfish. It’s the most selfish thing in the world.

Ayumi curls further into herself at his touch, and a distressed whine leaves her throat. Yoshiki’s brow furrows in concern at the noise.

He rested his palm carefully on her shoulder, not wanting to jar her too quickly out of whatever nightmare she was having. She doesn’t flinch at his touch, so he wraps one arm around her in a loose hug, his opposite hand coming up to stroke at her hair. Reflexively, she turns towards him, burying her face into the crook of his neck.

Ayumi always wakes up from these like she’s going headfirst into another battle, her remaining eye thrown wide in panic as her breaths come in panicked gasps. Her fingers tighten like claws into his shirt, as though already predicting the arrival of some invisible enemy. Then, her eyes squeezed shut.

“You’re with me,” Yoshiki murmured. “You’re safe.”

She mumbled something he couldn’t understand, her tears already soaking into the front of his t-shirt. 

There wasn’t any reasoning when it came to dreams like this. All he could do was hold her tightly, petting her hair and waiting for her to make her way back from whatever dark place she had gone. After a while, her sobs ceased and she simply stayed in his arms, inhaling the scent of his shirt deeply for a moment. Then, at last, she lifted her head, her eye bloodshot from all the crying.

“Sorry,” she managed with a weak smile.

His hands reached to cradle her face. “Don’t be ridiculous. Didn’t you have to handle me accidentally socking you in the face after a nightmare one time?” Ayumi chuckled in response, and he leaned down to touch his forehead to hers. “It’s just what you and I do.”

She pulled back in order to examine his face. “Thank you for…” She swallowed, taking a deep breath. “Just, thank you.”

He kissed her, softly. “We’re going to be okay. You’ll see.”


End file.
